Day 6: Rest Day

Since I was given the ok to ditch the crutch, life has been fast and furious. From swim meet spectating, traveling by car and plane, physical therapy, special projects, birthday parties, getting back in the pool and just enjoying not being tied to a crutch, I have kept a pretty good pace…and that has led to one tired me. So today, I rested.

The experience of going from two crutches to one, which was a bit painful, put things into perspective for me a couple of weeks ago. We are going to take some steps forward that may lead to a step back, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I have to take the same approach to this as I would my training–I need to take time to ramp things up and I need to follow hard days with light days and take time to rest. There is a good hurt after a good long run or ride in the same way there is going to be a good hurt after a hard session of PT or strength training or a trip to the mall. But when that happens, I need to make adjustments to give myself and my leg time to heal and recuperate.

A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that he wanted to see what event he might be able to qualify for in the Olympics. Race walking was one of the many suggestions. I laughed out loud reading the following comment that was posted on the same thread: “There is nothing more exhilarating in life than that moment when the gun fires and you, along with everyone else… starts walking.” I have been called a rabbit when I race, because when the gun goes off I just want to go as fast as I can (which really is not all that fast to be honest). But I need to remember to pace myself for this one and as I said a couple of days ago, take it “one step, one foot at a time.”